A Trucker Gets Back on the Right Road

Midsize trucking outfit Con-way lost its map in the financial crisis and is borrowing Japanese management ideas. Why the stock could surge.

Shareholders of trucking company Con-way can't help but wonder whether their delivery has been lost. Margins, which were 9.5% in 2006, dropped below 2% in the first quarter of this year, market share has languished at about 10% for years, and earnings per share decreased to $1.86 a share in 2012 from $5.09 six years before. Though the stock has risen 9% in the past year on the prospect of a U.S. economic recovery, that has left Con-way in the slow lane compared with trucking's 43% gain.